| Key Skills Qualification |
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It is generally available in School s (alongside A-levels or other qualifications), FE Colleges (alongside NVQ or other equivalent vocational or academic courses) and other places of learning (sometimes alongside other qualifications and sometimes independently). The qualifications can be taken at levels 1-4 The Department For Education And Skills defines Key Skills as "a range of essential skills that underpin success in education, employment, lifelong learning and personal development". The DfES website states that the Key Skills Qualification is offered as a response to concern from employers about lack of essential skills in young recruits and as part of the response to the 1996 Dearing Report . SUBJECTS Key Skills Qualifications are offered in six subjects, split in to two groups. The first group is generally seen as the core group and consists of:
This group is examined using internal and external assessment. Internal assessment means the production of a portfolio of work demonstrating satisfaction of the Key Skills targets. External assessment consists of a test or examination in the subject, often in formal examination conditions. The second group is described as the 'wider' key skills:
This group is examined only using internal assessment. The wider key skills are rarely compulsory. LEVELS The Qualifications are offered over four levels: level one, two, three and four. Schools generally determine the level of entrance dependent on past achievement. Those who achieved under grade C at GCSE in the corresponding subject (English, Mathematics or Information Technology respectively) are asked to take the corresponding level two Qualification. Those who achieved over grade C at GCSE are recommended to take level three or four. Those who take the corresponding subjects at AS/A-level (or equivalent) are generally excluded from the external assessment in that subject, as the completion of the corresponding subject certifies the academic achievement required. SCOTLAND Scotland has a separate Core Skills qualification. {Link without Title} WALES In Wales assessent is through the portfolio. Tests have been discontinued. However, the standards are the same as in England. THE PURPOSE OF KEY SKILLS As with all schools of criticism there is a mix of myth, legend and outright misinformation. It is undoubtedly true that government leaps on any opportunity to boost its image by claiming success in achieving targets, particularly when the target is hard to miss. If we look at some of the underlying reasons for the introduction of key skills, then we might spot where the real criticism belongs. It is a sad fact that although students leave schools, colleges and even universities with often a hatfull of qualifications and credits to their names, the skills which make them employable are often poorly developed. This is where the key skills come in. They are not about the things that you can memorise and regurgitate in an exam, they are about proving you can put your learning in to practice in an employment situation. The problem with exams is that you can be successful by getting just a percentage of what you know right when tested. In employment the percentage is 100. Employers don't want people who can get an apostrophy in the right place six times out of ten, or who can the hang of some of the layout tools in a word processor but just use the space bar a lot otherwise. The key skills are intended to be used in the context of other subjects, not as standalone subjects in their own right. So they are about how you develop and use your ICT skills as part of studying geography or how you use your number skills when working in beauty therapy etc etc. This means that the demand on the eductaion and training systems can be huge. Many teachers and trainers of one subject do not want to, or are afraid to engage with the key skills as well as their own subject. The planning and management of key skills in schools, colleges and training providers is often poor, underestimating the staff development and resource needs to deliver an effective key skills programme. The most important key skill, improving own learning and performance is often completely neglected. Why is it the most important? Because with the pace of change in technology and in employment practices, everyone is going to need to know how to learn new things throughout life. You can no longer pick up the bulk of what you need to know in the formative years of your education and career and hope that it will last a life time. EXTERNAL LINKS
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